Are you residing abroad and thinking of investing in a residential property in India then NRI home loans are the best option for you. Usually NRIs are doubtful whether they can invest in a residential property in India or not. They are not aware if they can dispatch funds from abroad under the current foreign exchange regulations to make any such purchase in India.

NRI can easily buy any immovable property in India through a number of options. But again the question arises that if an NRI want to invest here and he does not have sufficient funds then what should he do? Under such circumstances an NRI has a ready-made option of NRI home loans in India.

NRI home loans are loans available to Non-Resident Indians for the purposes buying houses that are under construction or for sale. They can also be availed to buy a plot of land or to renovate/improve an existing property. For extending such a loan all banks and housing finance companies go by the definition of NRI as given by RBI - "An Indian citizen who holds a valid Indian passport and who stays abroad for employment or for carrying on business or vocation outside India or stays abroad under circumstances indicating an intention for an uncertain duration of stay abroad is a NRI."

NRI home loans can be availed by any NRI with as much ease and convince as any resident would avail a home loan. However some difference between the two kinds of loans exists in terms of tenure, documents, repayment etc. The home loan rate charged by an NRI does not differ much by the interest rate charged by an Indian for his home loan but the tenure for such loans differs to a great extend. NRI home loans are extended for much shorter period as compared to the normal home loan. The loans tenure for NRIs extends from 7years up to a maximum tenure of15years where as the maximum tenure for a resident is from 25 to 30 years. Also an NRI cannot opt for a loan tenure that exceeds beyond his retirement age or 60years, which ever is earlier.

Besides an NRI can only get 85% of the loan amount and the remaining 15% has to be brought himself by the borrower. This amount can be paid by the borrower through direct remittances from abroad via the normal banking channels, the Non-Resident External (NRE) account and /or Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) account in India. The loan amount depends on the individual's gross monthly earnings. This amount is normally up to 36 times of the gross monthly income but there is also a maximum limit on this amount.